WHAT DOES THE STATE OF THESE SPARK PLUGS MEAN?

[NYCMOS]

My engine was running a little rough so I did a tuneup and changed the plugs. The plugs look rough.

https://s17.postimg.org/vbwsg3p27/image.jpg

[wiley-moeracing]

there shot. need a closer look to tell why

[joe]

First impression: you've got issues. Hard to tell though from that pic. Got any better pics of just the business ends?

[NYCMOS]

I'll take better picture tomorrow, seems heavily ash fouled. Runs fine now, wondered if it was a sight my valve guide seals are in need of replacement.

[FSJunkie]

These engines tend to ash foul even when they're in perfect running condition and don't burn oil.

They look like they just have a ton of miles on them. Should have been replaced long ago.

[NYCMOS]

The problem is they aren't that old or have that many miles on them. I pulled them to get look at them because of rough idle and wanted to do compression testing. Once I saw how bad they were knew they needed to get replaced. No it runs fine. No noticeable loss of oil why I was thinking maybe valve guide seals.

[tgreese]

...

They look like they just have a ton of miles on them. Should have been replaced long ago.

Yep. One looks clean, maybe that was replaced, or running lean? Lots of deposits - something in the fuel? I'd get some new ones and run them for a while. Then pull and assess.

Also, there is black carbon that's typical of cold start, with tan insulators. Ideally you drive the car on the highway and look at the plugs after that to avoid the cold-start appearance.

Bad valve seals tend to give you a puff of blue smoke at the tailpipe when you back off of the throttle. Vacuum goes up and pulls more oil in through the valve stems. Have you checked the compression, wet and dry? Have you felt the exhaust for a steady stream or puff-puff?

[FSJunkie]

Those plugs are severely worn. The electrodes are nearly completely gone from several of them. I don't care about their color or deposits, I'm looking at the electrode wear that indicates mileage.

Exactly how many miles did you put on them? Those are not platinum plugs; they need to be replaced every 12,000 to 15,000 miles. Those look like they have well over double that.

[NYCMOS]

They have around 10,000 miles on them, not sure why they are so worn so early.

[serehill]

Really

They have around 10,000 miles on them, not sure why they are so worn so early.

Clearly byproducts of a tired worn out mis-tuned motor. Pretty clear she's tired. The unballanced burn detects you need to run a compression check. That's Rings & valves


The bad plug wires causing the arc burns aren't helping either.

[NYCMOS]

Compression seems good, all cylinders are between 135-145. Runs fine now, hand an electrical issue in past few months where I think I was getting weak spark, maybe be the culprit. Fine now so I'll check it in a few months.

[serehill]

Absolurely

Could be bad spark. You would have not convinced me it had that kind of compression. Then it was really badly tuned.

[rocklaurence]

Possibly go to a hotter spark plug to burn that stuff off. Are you using the correct heat -range?

[Shep 762]

Means it's time to sell it. I'll give you $270 and you don't have to worry about it ever again

[letank]

the plugs look tired but not too bad compared to mine that did not show any signs of troubles, but it had been 6 years and I took a peek... funny, because these passed smog with flying colors...
thank you TFI and large cap distributor